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Book Review: The Four Horsemen & The Elysium Tools: Conquest’s Bow

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Genre: YA/Paranormal Romance

Overall: 3-stars

About: Libby is a high school student with a lot going on in her life. She struggles with school, having spent the majority of her education suffering from undiagnosed ADD. She spends most of her free time helping out on her family’s farm. She is passionate about the farm and their horses. She’s about to meet Vinn. He’s a one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. He’s the White Rider, Conquest. He’s going to board his horse at her farm. Vinn is a high school student as well, and he’s searching for a missing Elysium Tool. Libby can help him find it.

Review: I liked this book, but struggled with some parts of it.

First, I am typically leery of anything that seems too particularly Christian. I am happy to report that while this book is based off of the four horsemen and the apocalypse as laid out in the book of revelations, it is not a preachy book. Nor would I classify it as Christian.

Second, Vinn is kind of a jerk. It does make sense, however, for him to be a jerk. He’s the Horsemen of Conquest, of conflict. He’s sent to judge people’s souls and see if they are worthy of salvation. He has to help destroy the world if he gets the call do it. He’s also still a kid. He’s a teenager in high school. He’s a young man with powers that even an adult would be tempted to abuse. I just couldn’t help feeling that Libby was too good for him. He’s a jerk and he royally interferes with her life to the point of almost getting her killed.

Lastly, my biggest issue with the book is the romance part of it. Immediately Libby gets bad vibes off of Vinn. All the other girls at school are smitten with him instantly, but Libby is wary of him. She thinks he’s dangerous (he is). She begins to like him grudgingly, but things happen along the way to just make him seem more dangerous. To the point where she begins to tell him she wants him gone. Or when she goes to her father and asks him to no longer board Vinn’s horse at their farm. This continues throughout until the very end of the book. At which, after an absence of Vinn she discovers she’s fallen in love with him. I didn’t really “feel” the love part. It felt like it was there because it had to be to make it a romance. It also makes me worry about the message sent to young girls who might read the book. The message being that you should spend time with boys/men who give you bad vibes, that you feel are dangerous, because in the end they’ll protect you and you’ll fall in love. It also sends the message, to me, that no does not mean no. You tell a guy to go away and go away, but after he’s gone you change your mind and tell him to come back. This is a dangerous sort of thing, because then a person doesn’t know when no actually means no. (Hint: No should always mean no. Don’t tell someone to go away, and then pull them back in. It’s just not a good or safe idea.)

These things aside this is a really entertaining read. There are several funny moments in it. I also really really liked the character of Libby. My brother-in-law is super ADD, and so I was really excited to learn that Libby was. I wanted to see some of him in her. I wanted to see ADD written in a book. I thought that (wishywashy romance aside) she was really strong and assertive. I like the idea of the Four Horsemen, I like the basis of it all. It is really worth reading. You should just probably go into it knowing that the male lead is a bit of a jerk, and that you should not base your own romances off of this one.

Why you should read/get it: You like YA. You like paranormal. You like stories that are based off of the book of revelations.